Chosen By Fate, Guarded By Legends
by Trish
Summary: Another insight into Ash. Not very good....


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Chosen By Fate, Guarded By Legends

By Trish.

Disclaimer: Never have and never will own Pokémon. I only own the rights to this story.

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A/N: Ash - 24, Misty - 24. Great ages to be. I used to be that age - two years ago. Please note that I have made up the incidents involving Suicine, Raikou and Serebii. I have heard rumours that Serebii appears in the fourth movie, but that's it. In fact anything that does not sound familiar - I have made up. I don't think this story will live up to the usual standard of writing that people have come to expect of me.

The wind-swept rain lashed against the windows, making them rattle. The entry doors to the Emergency Ward at Pallet Memorial Hospital were being subjected to the same rough treatment.

James glanced up from the magazine he was reading. _The weather sure is wild tonight,_ he thought. And wild was how he would describe the current emotional state of his good friend and boss, Ash Ketchum. The reigning Pokémon Grand Master paced the floor of the waiting room, casting an anguished glance now and then at the inner doors. Pikachu sat beside James, her big brown eyes filled with sorrow as she tracked her master's every move.

It was futile to tell the twenty-four year old to settle down. To sit and wait in silence was an art form that Ash had never _quite _been able to master. James wished that the other members of their group had remained at the hospital, instead of heading back to the Ketchum's to wait for further news. Not that Ash would listen to anyone anyway - not while one of the most important people in his life was lying somewhere behind those doors. All James could do was to offer his silent support as the doctors worked to save Delia Ketchum.

James had no idea why Ash insisted on him staying and not Misty. Perhaps it was because Ash was so used to having him around as his Personal Assistant/ Public Relations Spokesman that James had become "part of the furniture". Whatever the reason, James was under strict orders from Misty to keep an eye on her fiancé.

The former Rocket reflected upon the event that brought them here. The Ketchums and their friends had spent the day at Camellia Village, about five miles from Pallet. They had just finished lunch when the legendary Pokémon Suicine appeared and began to wreck havoc. Ash had called out his Pokémon to stop the creature or at least drive it away. They succeeded in the latter. But just before leaving, an enraged Suicine had shot a combination Ice/Hyper Beam directly at Ash. The beam never reached the young man; Delia having screamed "NO!" before pushing him out of the way, taking the full force of the attack. Her horrified son had Togetic immediately teleport his mother, Pikachu and himself to the hospital where she was rushed into surgery.

James was not really surprised at Mrs. Ketchum's actions. She would do anything for her only child, just as Ash would do anything for his mother. They meant the world to each other. James compared Delia Ketchum to a mother grizzly bear with her cub. They were known to be very protective of their offspring, at times even giving their own life to protect their precious cub. Delia Ketchum was one of the nicest people that James had ever known, and he hoped that for Ash's sake that she would survive.

Ash sank wearily into a worn armchair and buried his face in his hands. _Please God, let Mom be okay_," he prayed silently. He did not know what he would do if she died.

His mother. The woman who had given birth to him, who had raised him from a tiny baby to a tall, handsome young man with the world at his feet.

The one person who had always been there for him; who had _never_ doubted his abilities to achieve his dreams. Never wavered in her love and support.

Ash was extremely close to his mother. Since his father's death when he was four years old, his mom had been his entire world. She had once told him that she would never forgive herself if she let an incident like his accidental kidnapping from the circus by Team Rocket when dressed as a Mr. Mime, happen again. She would rather die than let anything bad happen to him again. Which is why she took the attack for him. And he knew, that if given the chance, that she would do it all again.

Still, he was being consumed by guilt. It was his fault that she was in this condition. It was all because of him that his beloved mother was fighting for her life in hospital. _It's all because of these damned strange things that happen to me. These frequent encounters with these Legendary Pokémon_, he thought.

Most of the millions of Pokémon trainers were expected to experience what was known as a "typical Pokémon journey". Capture lots of Pokémon, travel directly from Gym to Gym, gain all the badges and compete in the Pokémon League. End of story. Which was what most of them did.

Keyword - _most_. And Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town was not like most other trainers. Normal was not a word one would use to describe his Pokémon experience. Strange was more like it.

Firstly, through his own fault, he missed out on owning one of the basic starter Pokémon. Instead he ended up with Pikachu - a tiny, yellow bundle of electric fluff whose power far exceeded her evolutionary level. Champion of the Orange League at twelve, the Johto League at thirteen, Indigo at fourteen and the Pokémon Master League at sixteen. What was more, he won them with some of his Pokémon still in their basic evolutionary form - namely Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Chikorita who had all steadfastly refused to evolve.

Secondly Ash attracted trouble like a magnet. Trouble (and it always came in double) in the form of Team Rocket, a trio of Pokémon thieves named Jessie, James and Meowth. Since their first encounter at the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City, the klutzy trio had followed him everywhere, trying to get their hands on Pikachu. In fact, they were still following him - only this time as his employees, which they had been since they quit Team Rocket six years ago.

He glanced up and peeked at James sitting a few seats away. He was glad for his company - at least he could be an emotional wreck and know that James would think none the less of him. He loved Misty with all his heart but she could sometimes be insensitive when he displayed a weaker side to his personality. He went back to his musing.

When not being attacked by Team Rocket, Ash and his friends were frequently getting lost. Thanks to Brock and Ash's abysmal sense of direction which resulted in their journeys being twice as long as other trainers. Thank God that his sense of direction had dramatically improved since then.

On top of all that, Ash had a rare and unique talent. A talent for landing his friends and himself into situations where strange, often unexplained phenomenon occurred. One such incident was at the tower in Lavender Town where Ash and Pikachu had died after being crushed by a falling chandelier, yet returned to life - thanks to the resident Ghost Pokémon.

Then there was the time at Grandpa Canyon where Ash nearly became dinner for the prehistoric Pokémon Aerodactyl. Pokémopolis, the island of Kabutos, the Ghost Ship of the Orange Islands. So many strange things had happened to him.

This "talent" also led Ash to having had more encounters with Legendary Pokémon than any other living person. Since his tenth birthday, he calculated that he had a legendary encounter at least once a year, every year. It had become such a part of his life that James kept jotting down in Ash's schedule every year that time should be set aside for his regular legendary encounter.

Ho-oh, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Lugia, Entei, Serebii, Suicine and Raikou - he had encountered them all. What the Pokémon Grand Master found unnerving was how he _always_ happened to be at or near the place where the Legendary Pokémon were to make an appearance. It was uncanny. He found it rather scary too.

For every time he saw one of these legends, someone would always be put in danger or hurt - usually himself. But twice now his Mom had been involved and that was one too many times for Ash to bear. His mother should never be the one to get hurt. It didn't matter to Ash if he was hurt himself - after all he had had more brushes with death in the past fourteen years than most people would have in an entire lifetime. Two of those incidents still gave him the occasional nightmare.

The first incident, where he was the only trainer to confront Team Rocket with the stolen cauldron at the Indigo League Opening Ceremony was forever etched into his memory.

He had first sent out Pikachu and then Bulbasaur in an attempt to stop them - and failed. They were then backed up against the stadium wall by Team Rocket's monstrous contraption. He recalled feeling the intense heat that radiated from the massive cauldron on the robot's back. Brock had yelled out for him to run, to save himself. But Ash couldn't - or rather he wouldn't. The Flame of Moltres stood for so much, to so many people. It symbolised all the high ideals of the Pokémon League - Sportsmanship, Co-operation, Trust, Harmony between Pokémon and Mankind. Team Rocket were about to destroy what the League stood for. They had to be stopped somehow. Nobody else was inclined to do anything about it - so it was up to him - even though he was trapped. 

Trapped _and_ doomed was his blunt assessment of his situation. Even if he ran, Team Rocket had him covered with their gigantic robot - and he would not be able to out run it. He was going to die - he hoped that at least Team Rocket would be made to pay for their crime by being arrested and charged with his murder. He murmured a few silent goodbyes to his mom and his friends, before taking a deep breath and gave one last yell of defiance, "TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT TEAM ROCKET!"

So they shot a massive sheet of flame at him, as he heard Misty scream his name. He covered his face with his arms, and braced himself in readiness for the searing flames to devour his body. The pain never came. He looked up in shock to see the fire all around him, yet he was strangely untouched. The same with his two loyal Pokémon. Ash straightened up, Pikachu scrambled onto his shoulder as Bulbasaur nestled against his leg. The flames veered away from him and took the shape of a massive bird. The Bird of Fire - the Legendary Pokémon Moltres. The fire avian dove at Team Rocket's vehicle, destroying the contraption which sent the trio blasting off again. The flames then returned to their rightful place in the cauldron which was back atop the stadium. Moltres had saved him - and he could never figure out why. Because in the second encounter with the Titan of Fire - it had tried to kill him.

The Legend of Shamouti Island also gave him nightmares. Ash, Misty and Tracey had been swept up in a terrifying real life drama of an ancient legend come to life as a result of the actions of one greedy man, Lawrence III. He had caught the three Legendary Birds Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno in an effort to flush out and capture the elusive Titan of the Sea Lugia. The legend foretold the end of the world if the three were disturbed, unless the Chosen One was there to help Lugia. So began Ash's search for the ancient spheres, which culminated into a mad sled ride across the frozen ocean for the third and final sphere on Ice Island. What's more, they had to fight off Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres along the way. Afterwards he flew back on Lugia and came under attack from Lawrence III. Lugia managed to fight him off before he plunged with Ash on board, through the ice into the frigid waters below. The young trainer had lost consciousness and would have drowned if Misty had not swum out to rescue him.

These two incidents still gave him the shakes even after all these years. By all rights, he should have died especially in regards to the first event.

What freaked him out was the fact that a copycat replication of the Indigo League incident had taken place at the Johto League two years ago. Two gangsters had tried to duplicate Jessie & James' feat of stealing the flaming cauldron. And like Ash before him, a young trainer by the name of Nathan tried to stop them. The only difference was that Ash survived the flames. The Pokémon Grand Master had been horrified when informed of the news. The only solace was that the two had been caught, charged and convicted of murder.

He could not understand why Moltres had saved him and not Nathan as well. Back then, he had been nobody special, just another face in the crowds of thousands of aspiring trainers. Just like Nathan had been. Because of this, he had found it hard to write the letter of condolence to the trainer's family. He could not explain to them why their son had died doing the exact same thing he did. Shouldn't Nathan have survived as well? What made his life any more valuable than Nathan's? This had haunted Ash ever since. Why did he survive while others have died?

"Mr. Ketchum?"

He broke out of his reverie to see the surgeon standing before him. He tried to speak but the words would not come, so he just nodded.

"Your mother is going to be fine," the doctor smiled. "She's suffering from severe hypothermia and a severe shock to the system. She'll have to stay in hospital for a few weeks, but there should be no side effects."

Ash managed to find his voice. "Thank you so much, Doctor" and shook his hand gratefully.

"No problem. Just doing my job" the surgeon waved as he left the room.

Ash looked up to meet James' anxious gaze, then gave him a weak smile and his customary victory sign. He started crying from sheer relief. The ordeal was finally over. Now if only he could find out the reasons behind these appearances. If only he could find out these reasons behind his miraculous survivals.

Far away from Pallet Town, a small figure smiled in the dark before starting to make the necessary arrangements. _Patience, Ash, patience. It is time you knew. Soon all will be revealed…._

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Two Months Later….

"May I have your bottlecap?"

Ash had just started to open his drink when the voice startled him from behind. He twisted around in his plane seat to see James looking at him with a hopeful glint in his green eyes. Ash stared at him until he remembered that James had a "thing" for bottlecaps. So much so that his collection of the little metal tops was _huge_.

"_Please_?" his assistant pleaded. Ash grinned as he took the cap off and flipped it into James' palms. "_Ooooooo_, THANK YOU!" he squealed happily as he settled down again.

Ash and the gang were flying to Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago where he hoped to find the answers to his questions. Originally the plan was for only Ash, Pikachu, Jessie and James to go along. But Meowth refused to be left out, then Misty, Brock and Tracey added themselves in. The reason for the last three being that word had leaked out on Shamouti that the Pokémon Master and Chosen One was coming. The local government had organised a welcoming party which included some of the island's local beauties. Misty came because she wanted it understood that Ash was definitely _not_ available. Brock, and to a lesser extent Tracey, came along just for the girls.

Misty stirred next to him. "What was all that noise about?" she murmured as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. 

"James just got a new bottlecap," Ash informed her. 

"Oh." The beautiful red head craned her head to look out the window. "Look, Shamouti's just coming into sight. Remember the first time we came here? We drifted in by accident."

Ash smiled as he stroked Pikachu's silky fur as she dozed in the window seat. "I seem to recall a certain young lady who became _rather_ jealous because I was kissed on the cheek by another girl. Yet who refused to admit the possibility that she _ever_ might think of _me_ as her boyfriend."

Misty blushed and looked down at her left hand which was entwined with his, the diamond ring sparkling in the afternoon light. "I did say that didn't I? Back then I was acting so young and immature," she sighed.

Ash's smile grew wider. "You got that right!" he drawled before he was lightly whacked by Misty. "Hey, no hitting! You left that wide open for me to make that comment! You had that coming!"

When they disembarked from the plane, they were greeted by a familiar face in the welcoming party. "Melody", they all cried with the exception of Brock as they embraced the chestnut haired girl.

"So, are you still the Festival Maiden?" Tracey inquired.

"Yep. Carol's little girl isn't old enough to assume the role yet," Melody said breezily. She then noticed that Ash and Misty were holding hands. "So, you two finally got together, huh?"

Misty blushed. "Even better, we're getting married."

Melody crowed, "I knew it! I knew it the minute I saw the two of you!"

Brock smirked. "I think _everybody_ except them knew it."

Later that night at dinner Ash told Melody the reason for their visit. She offered to take them along in her boat, as well as being there with them just in case a repeat performance of the legend happened.

The next day dawned clear and bright, the breeze rippling the material of Ash's dark blue shirt as he sat in the rear of Melody's boat as it skimmed the waves. Someone spluttered behind him and he turned to look. He couldn't help laughing at what he saw. Brock and Tracey were sitting behind Jessie, and her long hair was being whipped by the wind from side to side, hitting both men in the face. He then glanced to see where Pikachu was, she was up at the controls with Melody, no doubt enjoying the feel of the wind blowing her ears back.

They docked at the bottom of the steps at the other side of Shamouti Island, and the party made their way to the top. Standing there waiting, as Ash had suspected he would be, was Slowking - the guardian of the shrine and the Titans.

"Hi Ash. It's great to see you again," the tubby pink Pokémon greeted with a wave of his paw.

"Hey, Slowking. You knew I was coming, didn't you?"

"Sure did." The Pokémon led them to a place where they could sit. "I've already made all the necessary arrangements for you."

Ash looked confused as did the rest of the group. "What necessary arrangements?"

"Well, you did come here to get some answers, didn't you?" the Pokémon questioned the dark haired master.

"Yes, but I thought that _you_'d be the one to give me them."

"I could," Slowking acknowledged. "But we decided that it was best if you hear it from the main parties that are involved."

"Such as?"

"I've arranged for you to speak with Moltres on Fire Island."

The group's jaws dropped as one. Brock was the first to recover, "Well, I guess we'd better get going to Fire Island" he started.

Slowking chuckled, "There's no need for that." He gave a signal upon which an Alakazam materialised before them. "Teleportation!" he ordered.

The next minute the group found themselves standing at the entrance of an ancient lava tube at the side of the extinct volcano that was Fire Island. Slowking led the group some distance inside the vent until they reached the entrance of a huge dark cavern. "Oh Moltres, Titan of Fire, the Chosen One is here," the Pokémon called out into the inky darkness.

Like a fire flaring to life, Moltres revealed itself in a burst of brilliant flames which dazzled the small party of humans standing at a safe distance. Slowking then pushed Ash forward into the cavern. The Pokémon trainer gulped - he was rather wary of getting too close to the huge Legendary Bird.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Chosen One," Moltres greeted as she bowed slightly.

"You..can talk?" 

"All the Legendary Pokémon can talk, we only reveal this secret to a chosen few."

"Thank you…It's a great honour" Ash stuttered nervously.

Moltres chuckled. "There's no need to be afraid. You can come closer. I won't burn you." She indicated with a wave of her wing, a rock that could serve as a seat.

He took a deep breath before walking over to the seat. Despite his close proximity to the Titan it was surprisingly cool, and though the flames flickered near he was not burned.

"You wish to know why I saved you and not the other trainer Nathan?"

Ash nodded. "That issue's been haunting me ever since it happened. Nathan's death only made it worse."

"I saved you because the world needs you to live as long a life as possible. You are the Chosen One, the one person picked by Fate from birth to fulfil a very special destiny. You are the only one who can save the entire world of both Mankind and Pokémon from the great evils that will arise from time to time. It was not your time to go back then. Unfortunately, two years ago - it was Nathan's time to go. I know it sounds cruel but that's the truth."

"I also saved you because it is our duty as Legendary Pokémon to watch over and guard the Chosen One for the term of your natural life. Ho-oh, Zapdos, Articuno, Lugia, and myself are part of the pact to protect you. As is Mew and Serebii. The three Legendary Dogs were not included in it due to the fact that their whereabouts were unknown until someone broke the ancient code that released them."

"So they don't know about Ash then", Misty piped up.

Moltres nodded. "But don't you worry about that any more. We've told them all about it now."

"But what about the time when you were captured by that collector? How come all three of you attacked me?" Ash wanted to know.

"We had no choice. There is a law which says that if a legend is brought to life then the terms of that legend must be fulfilled. The Shamouti legend declares that we must fight to the death - and so we must."

"I guess then, you were only doing your job."

"That's one way of putting it. Any other questions?"

Ash thought about it, "How come I'm always in the area when one of you guys makes an appearance? I never knew beforehand about any of these encounters - and yet I find myself there - in a position to do something about it if necessary."

"As I said before, the Fates, the Angels and us are always keeping an eye on you. Part of our job is to make sure that you are travelling to the right place at the right time. That you'll be in the right area at the right time."

"Does that mean when I get lost, I'm _meant_ to get lost?"

"Sometimes."

Ash turned around to face Misty in triumphant. "See Misty?" he cried happily, "I don't _always_ get us lost!" At which Misty stuck her tongue out at him.

"My other two guests have just arrived to see you," Moltres informed him.

A pink bubble appeared before his nose and grew in size until it popped. Ash then found himself staring at two big blue eyes in a pink furry face which was upside down. "Mew" it said.

"Waaaaah!" Ash was so startled he fell off the bench. The pink cat like Pokémon giggled as it floated in the air. It was then joined by a larger blue-grey Pokémon which was similar to its smaller counterpart.

"Meet Mew and Mewtwo", Moltres said.

"It's been a long time, Ash," Mewtwo spoke up.

Ash scrambled back onto the seat. "What do you mean? I've never seen you before in my life."

"You have seen us before, only we wiped your memories," Mew replied. "Now to restore them." 

Ash reeled back as his brain was assaulted by these vivid recollections. He did not notice the same thing was happening to all but two members of his group, Melody and Tracey. Misty stared at him, as she clasped her ring while tears ran down her cheeks. When the flashbacks ceased Ash just sat there, still as a statue, pale and breathing heavily. He stared wide-eyed at the two psychic Pokémon, "Oh…my…God….I….died?" he breathed shakily. They nodded. "Just…give me…a minute…here," he requested, very rattled by this new revelation. He managed to calm down a bit, "I'm..okay…I think…Go on with whatever you were gonna say."

"That wasn't supposed to happen that way," Mew said softly. "I was supposed to help and protect you - but I didn't know you cared so much that you were willing to give your life. I'm sorry," she sniffed.

Ash smiled weakly. "That's okay, Mew. After all, _I _was the one who made the decision on what to do. Guess it just wasn't my time to go, was it?"

Mewtwo answered this one. "That's correct. It was lucky that the Angels were looking out for you. Pokémon have only cried those special tears once before in ancient times." 

Ash let out a huge sigh of relief, "Well….I guess that answers all my questions. Thank you so much for this - Moltres, Slowking, Alakazam, Mew and Mewtwo."

"No problem," they all chorused.

He rose from his seat. "I guess then I'll always be running into one of you Legendary Pokémon then for the rest of my life."

Moltres smiled. "It is written in your destiny that you will. You _are_ the Chosen One."

Mew floated up to him. "Just remember that you have many guardians, Ash. We are always watching over you - to guard, guide and protect." She then gave him a light whack with her tail, "But our job would be _a lot easier_ if you stopped this habit of trying to get yourself killed!"

Ash gave her a sheepish grin as everyone laughed. The small Pokémon nuzzled his cheek, "Death will come for you in his own good time, and not before."

After saying goodbye, they were teleported back to the shrine, where they said goodbye to Slowking and Alakazam and left in Melody's boat. Ash took a seat right at the back with Pikachu - he wanted some time alone to reflect. No doubt about it - he was extremely lucky. Lucky to have been the one person picked by Fate to experience these things. Lucky to have been given more chances at life than any other person. He whispered a small thank you to the heavens, for having such wonderful guardians. He would try to be more careful from now on - even if they were watching over him. They had repeatedly given him a precious gift over the past few years - and he did not intend to waste it. The gift of life.

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Author's Note: _This is not one of my best works. I'm not a very good writer - I'm okay (some of you may beg to differ - and you know who you are) - but I gave this my best shot. My other stories are much better. So read and review please - flamers will be fed to some Tassie Devils._

If the anonymous reviewer who signed themselves as "Beautiful!" for my last fic "Midsummer Madness" - could you please e-mail me? I would like to thank you. The address is under my profile.


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